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Overture

A native of Philadelphia, Grace Kang began playing the piano at age four and the violin at age eight. While in high school, she accompanied for all the musical theatre productions, her favorite being Kiss Me, Kate. That musical was also the occasion for a fateful mishap with her violin (it was accidentally stepped on); from then on, Grace concentrated her musical efforts on the piano.

Bridge

As an undergraduate at Swarthmore College, Grace discovered her love of composition through her studies with Tom Whitman and Gerald Levinson, pupils of George Crumb and Olivier Messiaen, respectively. Her ensemble piece "Balinese Impressions" (composed for flute, vibraphone, cello and piano) earned the Melvin B. Troy Award for Best Composition.

To further develop her musical voice, she continued her piano studies with noted pianist and composer, Charles Abramovic, at Temple University. She also began exploring MIDI and audio sampling technology in her compositions. She spent the next two years as a church Music Director while freelancing as a composer and pianist.

Coda

Grace left Philadelphia for New York City, where she continues her work in composition and piano. Past projects include scoring original music for a documentary feature, Barbara Leather, and presenting a family concert at the 92nd Street Y with flutist Jara Kern.

Presently, she plays at Christ Church New York and collaborates with artists of all forms. She lives in Manhattan and is also the Director of Programs and Community Outreach at Turtle Bay Music School in midtown Manhattan.

Grace holds a double BA in Music and Psychology from Swarthmore College and an MM in Piano Performance from Temple University. Her principal teachers have been Charles Abramovic for piano and Gerald Levinson and Thomas Whitman for composition. She has studied film scoring with Emmy Award-winning composer Michael Patterson and jazz piano under Bob Rodriguez.

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